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Borana, Laikipia Region, Lewa, Loisaba Conservancy, Mugie Ranch, Ngare Ndare Forest, North Laikipia, Ol Pejeta, Sosian Ranch

Laikipia region

Laikipia was and still is, largely a livestock region dating back to the colonial era. Even so, the area has Kenya's highest diversity of wildlife species due to its location as a transitional zone between the lush south and the arid far north.

Laikipia's protected areas consist solely of conservancies and group-ranches and its wildlife and land is closely managed, even more so than Kenya's national parks. Research and conservation are the main focus in this region and you may see predators with a radio collar used for monitoring the animals. Safari visitors are able to assist with radio-tracking at some properties.

Local private and group ranches operate as dual-use properties, with livestock and safari tourism coexisting hand-in-hand. These ranches typically have a colonial feel and include ranch activities, game drives, night drives, walking safaris and sometimes horseback safaris.

The Laikipia Wildlife Foundation (LWF), a non-profit organization formed in 1992, oversees the area as a whole. Membership in LWF includes all private ranches and conservancies in the region, as well as the community groups representing the diverse local tribes such as the Maasai, Kikuyu, Samburu, and Pokot.

The three main wildlife conservancies in Laikipia are Lewa, Borana and Ol Pejeta. All offer top-notch safaris and excellent accommodation. Visitors are able to see the superb wildlife and learn about their conservation initiatives.

Ol Pejeta conservancy

The Ol Pejeta Conservancy, which covers 141 square miles (365 sq kms), is a working cattle ranch that has been converted to a dual-use property that protects wildlife while still maintaining cattle farming. The conservancy is now owned by Fauna and Flora International and is run as a non-profit.

Ol Pejeta is primarily grassland with some acacia scrub and is well watered via boreholes, which provides excellent habitat for an abundance of wildlife. The perimeter of the property is surrounded by an electric fence and rangers patrol the property every day to watch over the land and wildlife inside.

Wildlife management is combined with the world's largest herd of Boran cattle, a well-known beef breed in Africa. The cattle are maintained and protected from predators by placing them inside mobile 'bomas' at night. The management of cattle and wildlife together at Ol Pejeta is considered a model conservation effort, which provides tourism and beef revenue, plus cattle stock improvement for the local communities.

The eastern side of Ol Pejeta was formerly the Sweetwaters Rhino Sanctuary, which gained fame for a tame black rhino bull named 'Morani' that could be hand-fed by visitors. Morani died in 2008, but the reserve now boasts good numbers of both black and white rhinos.

Ol Pejeta also has a fenced chimpanzee sanctuary, which houses chimps from the Jane Goodall Institute in Burundi and other orphans rescued from the bush-meat trade throughout other parts of Africa. This chimp haven has two troops, one on either side of the Ewaso Ng'iro river and a boat ride to see the sanctuary is a popular activity.

Plains game is abundant at Ol Pejeta, with commonly seen species including buffalo, elephant, reticulated giraffe, Jackson's hartebeest, gerenuk antelope, Beisa Oryx, Grevy's zebra, blue wildebeest, and hippo.

Predators include leopard, lion, cheetah, spotted hyena, African wild dog, black-backed jackal, serval, bat-eared fox, caracal, and others. Birding at Ol Pejeta is excellent, with a list that tops 300 species.

Activities at Ol Pejeta include game drives (both day and night), guided walking safaris, horse riding, cycling, and wildlife radio-tracking with researchers.

Access to Ol Pejeta is via Nairobi (4-hour drive) or a scheduled flight from Nairobi's to Nanyuki (75 minutes / outside the conservancy / 30- to 45-minute drive to the Ol Pejeta gate) or to Kamok Airstrip (75 minutes / inside the conservancy). Charter flights to Nanyuki from anywhere in Kenya are also an option.

Lewa conservancy

The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, which covers 96 square miles (250 sq kms), is a non-profit wildlife conservation refuge originally formed in 1983 as the Ngare Sergoi Rhino Sanctuary. The sanctuary was established to save the last of northern Kenya's critically endangered black rhinos. Ngare Sergoi became the Lewa Wildlife Sanctuary in 1995.

Before it became a protected sanctuary, the land was a cattle ranch, but today Lewa is one of Laikipia's finest reserves. The conservancy is completely fenced and very well managed. Lewa's mission is to work closely with the surrounding communities to ensure that they, as well as the wildlife, benefit from its conservation efforts. Lewa is a member of the Northern Ranglelands Trust, which includes local communities as its partners.

Lewa, together with Borana, which lies directly to the west, protect around 14% of Kenya's rhino population and 11% of its remaining Grevy's zebras. The combined reserves are one of only three reserves which have a stable and increasing black rhino population.

Lewa is primarily grassland with interspersed hills, scrub bush, and wooded valleys, providing excellent habitat for its healthy populations of both black and white rhino. Lewa is also home to around 350 Grevy's zebra, the largest single population of this species in the world. The Lewa swamp boasts a localized population of sitatunga antelope, originally relocated from the Saiwa swampland during the 1980's.

In addition to the endangered species protected at Lewa, the general game viewing is excellent, with all of Africa's Big Five found here. Elephants are found in good numbers, as well as reticulated giraffe, buffalo, blue wildebeest, Beisa oryx, eland, impala, Grant's gazelle, and gerenuk.

Lewa also boasts a host of predators including lion, leopard, cheetah, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, and sometimes African wild dog. Hippos are found in the Lewa swamp.

Borana Conservancy

Adjoining Lewa is the Borana Conservancy. Like most of the wildlife initiatives in Laikipia, Borana began as a cattle ranch and, like Ol Pejeta, is today run as a dual-purpose operation, merging beef cattle farming with wildlife conservation and tourism.

The fence dividing Lewa from Borana was removed in 2013, thus creating a combined 147-square-mile (380-sq-km) sanctuary for wildlife. Borana maintains a herd of 2 000+ Borana cattle, as well as a wool and leather production manufacture, both employing members from local communities. 

Borana monitors multiple species via radio collar and has a full-time anti-poaching team to protect its rhinos and other wildlife. Lions, elephants, wild dogs, hyenas and cheetahs are only some of the species being researched and protected at Borana.

Visitors to Borana are able to participate in wildlife management activities, but the big activity here is horse riding on the reserve. Riders are able to get very close to wildlife on horseback, as the animals are not afraid of the horses. Game drives, safari walks and mountain biking are also on offer.

Ngare Ndare Forest Reserve

Directly adjoining the southern border of Lewa Wildlife Conservancy is the Ngare Ndere Forest Reserve. Ngare Ndare is an indigenous forest with 200-year-old trees and and a place of pristine beauty. The lush forest, which is continuing to be enriched by annual tree planting, protects a vital and age-old corridor for elephants that move south to Mount Kenya and north to Lewa and the Northern Rangelands.

Ngare Ndere has an unique attraction for Kenya, a canopy walkway suspended 100 feet (30 meters) above the forest floor and traversing through the trees for 1 480 feet (450 meters). The suspension walk ends on a viewing platform, where one can hope to see elephants gathered in the swamp below.

Visitors can self-drive through the park or hire a ranger to accompany them (recommended). There are some beautiful waterfalls in the reserve and swimming in the pool beneath some of them is a highlight. Walking in the forest is allowed only with a ranger (please book in advance).

Besides elephants, which are commonly seen in Ngare Ndare, wildlife that one may expect to see includes buffalo, baboon, various monkeys, and bushbuck. Ngare Nadare is also wonderful for birding. Don't come to the reserve specifically for wildlife, but more the experience; those looking for better wildlife nearby are encouraged to head north to the adjoining reserves at Lewa or Borana.

Accommodation is at two basic camp sites, both of which have running water and toilets.

The name of the reserve is derived from the Maa language (which isspoken by the Maasai people) and means 'a watering place for goats'.

Sosian ranch

Located along the Ewaso Narok river is Sosian Lodge, a 40-square-mile (100-sq-km) property, offering ranch activities, horse riding safaris, archery, fishing, 'river tubing', and game drives with some of the best wildlife viewing in all of Laikipia. All the large mammals are here (except rhinos), plus great opportunities to see Africa wild dogs, which are researched and monitored via radio tracking by the ranch. The beautifully restored, Colonial-style main house is surrounded by comfortable cottages.

NorthERN Laikipia

Laikipia's far north is a remote and pristine destination and there are numerous ranches here that offer tourist camps and wildlife viewing along the Ewaso Ng'iro gorge. The landscape here is a thicker bush than that in the south and the focus in most of the far north lodges is on walking rather than vehicle game viewing, making it ideal for an "end of a safari" itinerary.

Loisaba Conservancy

Loisaba is a 89-square-mile (231-sq-km) working cattle ranch and wildlife sanctuary lying west of the Ewaso Ng'iro River in Northern Laikipia. The ranch provides a critical link connecting Laikipia to the Samburu region to the east, helping to ensure that a well-used wildlife (particularly elephants) and livestock movement corridor is protected.

The ranch has a herd of over 2 000 Boran cattle. Loisaba offers diverse activities including walking safaris, horseback safaris, tracking wildlife, mountain biking, camel rides, quad-biking, ballooning, and river rafting. An elevated "star bed" accommodation offers guests the option to sleep under the stars.

The land was purchased by the Ancilotto family in the 1970s, who managed it as a low-impact cattle ranch and tourist destination with a vision of protecting the land as a wilderness for the native wildlife and future generations.

In 1997, the land was leased to a group of Kenyans and an American investor, who created the Loisaba brand  and managed it as a successful ranching, conservation, and tourism business until 2014, when the land was transferred to the Loisaba Community Trust. The transfer was facilitated by The Nature Conservancy, Space for Giants, and generous donors. Today, The Loisaba Community Trust continues to ensure that Loisaba remains a world-class conservation and ecotourism destination, as well as a hub for wildlife research.

Loisaba's stated mission is to protect and enhance critical wildlife diversity, abundance, and habitat in the Loisaba landscape, while concurrently supporting sustainable livestock production and improving the lives of neighboring communities. Both tourism and livestock bring revenue to the land and offer over 300 jobs to local communities.

Mugie Ranch

In Laikipia's far northwest is the Mugie Ranch (77 sq miles/220 sq kms), offering more wildlife and cattle in coexistence. Activities at both include camel riding, mountain biking, hot-air balloon rides, river rafting, and walking safaris. The Mugie Rhino Sanctuary covers half of the ranch. The wildlife here is somewhat sparse, but includes good opportunities to see elephant, leopard, greater kudu and a full host of drylands species.

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Borana, Laikipia Region, Lewa, Loisaba Ranch, Mugie Ranch, Ngare Ndare Forest, North Laikipia, Ol Pejeta, Sosian Ranch